Tse Bitai
Shiprock, NM
Don't know if Ship Rock actually qualifies for #MountainMonday but I'm going to post it as such anyway.
In case you didn't know, it's a volcanic neck, remnant of an explosive volcanic eruption that occurred around 30 million years ago.
@bosquebill Almost anything qualifies as a good excuse to look at Shiprock. Best. Rock. Ever.
@akkana Thanks!
Best. Reply. Ever.
@bosquebill @akkana Considering Shiprock is a prominent landmark one can see for like a 60-70 mile radius, I think that qualifies it as a mountain. Nice photo!
@elaterite @akkana Thanks! It was early enough in the day that I didn't have to contend with dust or haze.
@bosquebill Indeed, dust and haze seems to often be a problem in the Four Corners region. I remember driving near Shiprock once when it was full on tumbleweed-mageddon. I tried to get a good photo but failed. Thousand upon thousands of tumbleweeds blowing down the road, pretty much right at my car. It was almost as if they were alive. @akkana
@bosquebill I tried and failed to track down an online version of Robert Ormes' account of his failed ascent. The photo of him hanging from a bent piton by a rope around his waist after taking a lead fall is wild enough. His deadpan account of the crazy aid climbing tactics that led up to the fall is on a whole other level.
@drdirtbag There is a brief section on him and climbing the rock here: https://www.tripsavvy.com/facts-about-shiprock-756148
A fictitious ascent is the centerpiece of Tony Hillerman's "The Fallen Man." Probably won't appeal to you as a climber, but is one novel in his fantastic series of mysteries/police procedurals that take place on the Navajo Nation.
@bosquebill I'm pretty sure I haven't read "The Fallen Man," but I did read and enjoy a bunch of the Leaphorn and Chee novels growing up.
@drdirtbag They're still good—worth visiting again.
@bosquebill I found the Ormes article -- someone scanned it in and put it on Summitpost, along with an article on its climbing history. SP has sadly turned to ad-infested junk, but still has a lot of valuable information. https://www.summitpost.org/pioneering-ship-rock/702339
@drdirtbag I'll check it out after I finish my chores.